Herring Fishing Shutdown for 2021...

[Roccus7]

East Coast herring fishery will be shut down until 2022​

pressherald.com/2021/11/27/east-coast-herring-fishery-will-be-shut-down-until-2022/

By Associated Press November 27, 2021

The East Coast herring fishing industry will be almost completely shut down for the rest of the year.

Herring fishing is a major marine industry in New England, but the industry has had to contend with cuts in fishing quota in recent years. A scientific assessment in 2020 found that herring are overfished.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the fishing industry will be essentially shuttered until Dec. 31. The agency said that’s because it has projected that 95 percent of the year’s quota has been harvested as of Nov. 23.

Atlantic herring are economically important because they are a key bait fish. They’re a preferred bait for lobster harvesters. The nationwide catch of herring was more than 100 million pounds as recently as 2017, but it fell to less than 21 million last year.

 

[CELLFISH]

Key Bait for Lobsters ?… ??

 

[captmike28]

Used to be a key bait for big Striped Bass in the fall on the North Fork. When we lost the Herring, about 10-12 years ago our fall Striper fishing took a serious nose dive. When it comes to fisheries management it is always important to protect all the species up and down the ecological chain of life!

 

[Roccus7]

Bailout for the herring industry...

Herring industry, mostly in Maine, to get $11 million to cope with fishery disaster​

pressherald.com/2022/05/05/herring-industry-to-get-11-million-to-cope-with-fishery-disaster/

Associated Press May 5, 2022

Disaster-level instability in the Atlantic herring industry has prompted the federal government to give $11 million to commercial fishermen and shore-side infrastructure in four states.

A scientific assessment in 2020 found that herring are overfished, and quotas for the fish were reduced dramatically. The federal government declared a “fishery disaster” in November, clearing the way for assistance.

Atlantic herring are vital because they’re used as bait by commercial lobstermen – who’ve been plagued by a bait crunch for years – as well as for food.

Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said Thursday that the herring industry in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island will get the assistance. More than $7 million is allocated for Maine.
Raimondo said the assistance “will help affected fisheries and communities recover from disasters and make them more resilient to future challenges.”

New Hampshire is set to receive about $600,000 of the assistance. Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said the decline of Atlantic herring has been an economic hardship for coastal communities in her state.

The loss of the fish has “devastated our fishing industry, particularly since Atlantic herring are used as bait for lobster and tuna fishing industries,” she said.